Soil is only the common factors where we all living beings in this planet depend on.
We can all do something to help Conserve Soil from our home itself. Taking initiative at home & to get learning more about how soils work is a first step towards making a difference on a much bigger scale.
In our own garden, or on a windowsill growing different vegetables and plants will help recycle nutrients back into the soil, with the added benefit of reconnecting us in most environmentally-friendly way with the food comes from. Leaving soil bare is not good for the soil’s health because rain can wash away soil nutrients and even the soil itself, so to make sure we keep it covered, with plants or some edible crops.
Organic matter is the parts of soil that originate from plants or animals or zillions of microbes inside & which help to keep the soil alive. It's an essential ingredient in healthy soil, helping it hold onto nutrients and water. In agro-ecological ways of farming, like organic, farmers use around 65% more manure and compost! As a result, soil organic matter is higher on organic farms. An easy way to boost soil organic matter is to apply compost - this will ‘feed’ the soil with a diversity of nutrients and microorganisms. Fallen leaves and dead plants will add to soil organic matter too, as well as providing a home & food for insects and to garden-dwelling creatures. Plants that pull nitrogen from the air help increase the fertility of those soils, while deep-rooting plants promote healthy soil structure, and draw up nutrients deeper in the soil for use by other plants.
Compost pit is one of the simplest methods of composting where you can turn organic matter like food waste, vegetable, seeds, manure, garden waste or leaves into fertilizers. All you need to do is to grab a shovel, dig a hole (take supervision of any adult at home) & you will be ready to add compost material to it. Try making pit longer or wider, at most, the compost material should reach a depth of 10 cm in the pit. Cover the pit with a fine layer of soil or dead leaves, and close it up with a board/ cover. You can improve decomposition by watering the compost area. If the area is kept sufficiently moist underground compost should be fully decomposed in about a year, and where you access to the maximum amount of composed nutrients.
Raising awareness about the issue of soil degradation is a really important; let's keep growing this movement from the ground up! Share this information more with friends and family, and help them to start saving their own soils at home too. Together, we can use our power together to influence the Government to acknowledge the vital role of soils’ health & make this Planet better for all.
Article by
Tumpa Datta Gupta
Educator (ECCE)
Green Wings Pre-school Educational Network
#savesoil #consciousplanet #soilmovement #sadhguru #isha #ishafoundation #kidskorner #raisingawarenessamongchildren #awarenessonsavesoil
https://consciousplanet.org/action-now #tumpadattagupta #tumpadattagupta #educator #greenwingspreschool #twell #twellmedia #twellmagazine